Valve assembly and components therefore

ABSTRACT

A valve assembly, including a valve body, at least one passage along which fluid can be selectively allowed to pass, and at least one ball located in the passage so as to be movable between a first position in which a channel in the ball forms part of the passage and a second position in which the ball prevents fluid passing and wherein at least one end of the body and depending inwardly towards one side of the at last one ball there is provided is retention assembly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a National Phase application claiming priority toPCT/GB2011/051689 filed Sep. 9, 2011 which claims priority toGB1015032.4 filed Sep. 10, 2010, all of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entireties.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention to which this application relates is to improvements to avalve assembly and particularly, although not necessarily exclusively,to a valve assembly in the form of a block and bleed valve assembly inwhich there is provided first and first and second, or more, valve ballslocated along a fluid passage formed in the body of the valve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventionally, the manufacture of the block and bleed valve, is wellknown however there is always pressure with regard to the design of thesame to ensure that the dimensions of the valve, and in particular, thelength of the same, meet International standards.

The applicant has a series of granted patents and co pending patentapplications which address this issue and further prior art documentsare known such as, EP1322886, which also attempt to address thedimensional challenges, with varying degrees of success.

The applicant has identified that for certain requirements the prior artvalve assemblies do not provide a satisfactory solution.

The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a new form ofvalve assembly which allows the same to fulfil the requirements forInternational standards while, at the same time, take into accountcommercial and manufacturing considerations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a valve assembly,said valve assembly including at least one passage along which fluid canbe selectively allowed to pass, said assembly including a valve body inwhich the passage is formed and at least one ball located in the passageso as to be moveable between a first position in which a channel in theball forms part of the passage and a second position in which the ballprevents fluid passing along the passage and wherein at at least one endof the body and depending inwardly towards one side of the at least oneball there is provided a retention assembly, said assembly comprising afirst annular member to contact with the ball, a second annular memberreceiving and locating at least one biasing means, said first and secondannular members located within an annular housing, said annular housingretained within the valve body, and an annular securing member which isengaged with the valve body and which has an outer face which forms orreceives an external sealing face for the valve assembly to a pipelineor pipeline flange.

In one embodiment the annular housing and annular securing member areindependently retained with the valve body.

In an alternative embodiment the annular housing is retained in thevalve body by the annular securing member.

Typically, the external sealing face, is adapted in a suitable manner soas to allow the same to be engaged and sealed with a pipeline or apipeline flange in conjunction with which the valve is to be used.

In one embodiment, a retaining assembly as described is provided at eachend of the valve body.

In one embodiment, the valve assembly includes at least first and secondballs provided at spaced locations along the fluid passage formed in thevalve body and a first retaining assembly is provided at the first endof the valve body to contact with one side of the first ball. In oneembodiment a second retaining assembly is provided at the other end ofthe valve body to locate with a side of the second ball.

Typically, a sealing assembly is provided between the first and secondballs so as to locate with the respective opposing sides of the ballswhich are not in contact with a retaining assembly.

In one embodiment there is provided a first annular seat for contactwith a face of a first ball and a second annular seat for contact with aface of the second ball and said first and second seats are providedwith at least one biasing means depending between the same.

In one embodiment a plurality of biasing means are provided spaced apartaround a circular path at the periphery of the said passage.

In one embodiment the biasing means pass through a channel formed in aportion of the body or another member which depends partially inwardlyso as to locate the biasing means with respect to the longitudinal axisof the same.

In one embodiment the first annular member is formed as a valve seat forsealing contact with the ball side. In this embodiment the valve seatand hence first annular member is formed of a metal or metal alloy. Inan alternative embodiment the first annular member supports and receivesthereon a valve seat. In this embodiment the valve seat is formed of arubber or equivalent material.

In one embodiment, the biasing means provided in the second annularmember are a series of springs provided at spaced locations around acircular path. In one embodiment first ends of the springs are locatedin the second annular member. In one embodiment the said spring ends arereceived and located in a part of the second annular member which isreceived in a recessed portion in the first annular member so as tolocate the second annular member. In whichever embodiment the springsare provided within the retention assembly so that the same are held incompression so as to act on the first annular member to bias the firstannular member towards contact with the ball.

In one embodiment, the opposing ends of the biasing means springs arelocated with the face of the annular housing which in turn is retainedin position within the valve body by the threaded engagement of theannular securing member with the valve body. Thus, it can be ensuredthat at all times, the biasing means springs exert sufficient force onthe first annular member so as to provide a sufficient seal with theball.

Typically, sealing means are provided between the first annular memberand the annular housing and the second annular member with the annularhousing.

Typically, at least one sealing means is provided between the annularhousing and the valve body.

Typically, at least one sealing means is provided between the annularring and the valve body.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the biasing means are providedto act on the second annular member and are located within the annularhousing such that the biasing means springs act on the second annularmember to move the same towards the first annular member and in turn, tomove the first annular member into engagement with the ball.

In one embodiment the components which are located within and along thevalve body are moved into position from one, common, end of the valvebody and the components are retained in position by the engagement ofthe annular housing and/or annular securing member in position at oradjacent to the end of the body from which the components are moved intoposition, once the components are in position.

In one embodiment the components include, in order of insertion into thevalve body, a first sealing ring for a first valve ball, the first valveball, a spigot for the first valve ball, a sealing assembly for thefirst valve ball and a second valve ball, the second valve ball, aspigot for the second valve ball, the annular housing with first andsecond sealing members located therein, and an annular securing member.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a retainingassembly for use in a valve assembly to retain the components of thevalve passage therein, said retaining assembly including an annularhousing having first and second annular members located therein and anannular securing means wherein one or both of the annular housing and/orannular securing means, are provided in engagement with the valveassembly body so as to retain the retaining assembly in position andprovide the first and second annular members in the required positionwithin the valve body.

Further aspects of the invention which can be used separately to, or inconjunction with, the valve assembly features described above, are nowdescribed.

In the further aspect of the invention, there is provided a valveassembly, said valve assembly including a valve body having a fluidpassage therein and at least one ball mounted in the passage, said ballmoveable between a first position in which a channel in the ball isprovided in line with the passage so as to allow fluid to flow therethrough and a second, closed position in which the ball prevents fluidfrom passing along the passage, said ball mounted on first and secondtrunnions so as to be rotatable and wherein at least one of saidtrunnions is mounted and located internally of the valve body.

This is in contrast to the conventional fixed trunnion arrangement inwhich there is typically provided first and second trunnions locatingwith opposing sides of the ball and each of said trunnions is located tothe exterior of the valve, one having a stem which can be operated toturn the valve ball and the other trunnion having a flange which islocated externally of the valve body and which is bolted in position tosecure it to the valve body.

Typically, the location of the flange and the bolting of the same on thevalve body means that the valve body has to be of a relatively largesize to receive the bolts and to provide the strength for securing theflange and hence lower trunnion to the valve body. This problem isovercome by the current invention in that the lower trunnion is locatedwithin a recess depending into the valve body from the fluid passagesuch that the lower trunnion does not have to pass through the valvebody and does not have to be located externally of the valve body.

By locating the trunnion within the valve body, there is no need to boltthe same externally to the valve body and hence the dimensions of thevalve body can be reduced significantly.

In one embodiment, the lower trunnion is formed as a solid cylinder orpeg, with a first end received within the recess of the valve body and asecond end received within a recess of the ball.

In one embodiment the said cylinder or peg is introduced into positionwithin the valve body by first placing the ball into position in thevalve body and then passing the peg or cylinder into the channel in theball and then through a locating aperture in the ball and into thereceiving recess of the valve body so that the peg or cylinder isreceived in the recess and the locating aperture.

In one embodiment a securing means is then put into position to securethe peg or cylinder in position with the ball and/or valve body.

Typically, the movement of the ball with respect to the peg and valvebody is achieved by movement of the first trunnion opposing the said pegand which can be provided in a conventional manner.

Typically the second trunnion is located on the opposite side of theball from the first trunnion and the longitudinal axes of the first andsecond trunnions define the axis of rotation of the ball between firstand second positions.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a valve assemblyincluding at least one passage along which fluid can be selectivelyallowed to pass, said assembly including a valve body in which thepassage is formed and at least first and second balls located in thepassage, each selectively movable between a first position in which achannel in the ball forms part of the passage and a second position inwhich the ball prevents fluid passing along the passage and wherein asealing assembly is provided in the space in the valve body between saidballs, said sealing assembly including a sealing ring for location witha face of a first ball and a sealing ring for location with a face ofthe other of said balls and wherein biasing means are provided with afirst end of each of the biasing means located to act on the firstsealing ring and a second end located to act on the second sealing ring.

In one embodiment the first and second sealing rings are separatecomponents.

In one embodiment at any given time the biasing means act to bias one ofthe sealing rings into contact with the respective ball surface.

In one embodiment a plurality of biasing means are provided spaced alonga circular path.

In one embodiment the biasing means are located in position by thelocation of the ends with the respective sealing rings.

Typically at least a portion of the biasing means intermediate the endsof the same are located in a channel for each respective biasing means.Preferably the said channels are formed in a portion of the valve body.The provision of the locating channels acts to prevent the possibilityof the springs being twisted along their longitudinal axes by therotational movement of the sealing rings which may occur during use ofthe valve. Typically the said portion protrudes into the passage of thevalve body and is located intermediate the first and second sealingrings.

In an alternative embodiment the said channels are provided in a memberlocated between the first and second sealing rings.

In a yet further aspect of the invention there is provided a valveassembly including at least one passage along which fluid can beselectively allowed to pass, said assembly including a valve body inwhich the passage is formed and at least one ball located in the passageso as to be moveable between a first position in which a channel in theball forms part of the passage and a second position in which the ballprevents fluid passing along the passage and at at least one end of thebody and depending inwardly towards one side of the at least one ballthere is provided a retention assembly and wherein the components to belocated along the passage of the valve body are introduced into thevalve body from the same common end and then retained in position by themovement of the said retention assembly into position at said end of thevalve body.

In one embodiment the retention assembly is an annular securing memberprovided to be engaged with the valve body.

In one embodiment the retention assembly includes a first annular memberto contact with the ball, a second annular member receiving and locatingat least one biasing means, said first and second annular memberslocated within an annular housing, said annular housing retained withinthe valve body, and the annular securing member which is engaged withthe valve body and which has an outer face which forms or receives anexternal sealing face for the valve assembly to a pipeline or pipelineflange.

In one embodiment, for a single ball valve the components which aremoved into position and located within the passage from the common endinclude a first sealing ring for a first ball, a first ball, a trunnionfor the first ball a sealing assembly for sealing against the opposingsurface of the first ball from the first sealing ring and the annularsecuring member.

In one embodiment, for a double ball valve the components located withinthe passage from the common end include a first sealing ring for a firstball, a first ball, a trunnion for locating the first ball, a sealingassembly for sealing against the opposing surface of the first ball fromthe first sealing ring, and a surface of a second ball, the second ball,a trunnion for locating the second ball, means for sealing against theopposing surface of the second ball from the sealing assembly and theannular securing member.

Typically the sealing assembly includes biasing means which are locatedin position by respective sealing rings for the first and second balls.

Typically the valve assembly formed is what is commonly referred to as adouble block and bleed valve assembly.

In a yet further aspect of the invention there is provided a method ofpositioning and locating the components required within a body of avalve assembly to form the same, said valve assembly including first andsecond balls located along a passage within a valve body and along whichpassage fluid can be selectively allowed to flow by selectivelypositioning the said first and second balls by rotating the same, saidmethod comprising the steps of introducing from one open end of thevalve body and into the same so as to be positioned along said passage,a first sealing ring for a first ball, a first ball, a trunnion forlocating the first ball, a sealing assembly for sealing against theopposing surface of the first ball from the first sealing ring, and asurface of a second ball, the second ball, a trunnion for locating thesecond ball, means for sealing against the opposing surface of thesecond ball from the sealing assembly and an annular securing member.

Typically at least the annular securing member is engaged with the valvebody so as to close the passage at the open end to a sufficient extentto retain the components in position within the valve body.

Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with referenceto the accompanying drawings; wherein

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 a-c illustrate a first embodiment of a valve in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 1 d illustrates an alternative embodiment to part of the assemblyshown in FIGS. 1 a-c

FIGS. 2 a and b illustrate a second embodiment of a valve in accordancewith the invention;

FIGS. 3 a and b illustrate, respectively, a conventional ball andtrunnion arrangement and an embodiment of a ball and trunnionarrangement in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 4 a-c illustrate two embodiments of a sealing assembly inaccordance with the invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 a-d, there is illustrated a valve 2 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. The valve 2 includes avalve body 4 in which there is formed a passage 6 along which fluid canpass from a first pipeline end located at a first end 8 of the valvebody and towards a second pipeline located at the opposing end 10 of thevalve body.

In this embodiment, located within the passage within the valve body,are first and second balls 12. The balls are shown in FIG. 1 b, in anopen position inasmuch that channels 16 formed in each of the balls areprovided in line with the passage 6 so as to allow fluid to pass alongthe passage of the valve body. However, the balls can be individuallyrotated about the respective axes 20, 22 to a closed position in whichthe ball channel is no longer in line with the passage and prevents thepassage of fluid along the passage 6. Operating means for the respectiveballs are provided in the form of rotatable handles 24, 26 and the ballsare mounted in respect of the valve body via trunnions in the form ofupper trunnions 28 to which the handles are connected and lowertrunnions 30, which trunnions are located with opposing sides, typicallytop and bottom, of the respective ball.

It is necessary for the ball to be located within the valve body in asealed manner and in accordance with this embodiment of the invention ateach end of the valve body there is provided a retaining assembly 32,34. In each of the retaining assemblies, there is provided a firstannular member 36 which is provided to contact in a sealing manner witha side of the ball. The first annular member can be formed as a valveseat in it's entirety or can be provided to secure and support a valveseat material therewith. The first annular member is acted upon bybiasing means in the form of springs 38 which are provided at spacedlocations along a circular path in a second annular member 40. One endof the springs contact with the second annular member as shown and theopposing end of the biasing means springs 38 contact with a face of anannular housing 42 which has a recess 49 in which the first and secondannular members are located.

The biasing means are provided as compression springs of a size andstrength such that when the components of the retaining assembly are inposition the springs act to bias the first annular member towardssealing engagement with the ball as indicated by arrow 51 in FIG. 1 c.In FIG. 1 c the annular housing is located with respect to the valvebody by the provision of an annular securing member 44 which is providedin threaded engagement with the valve body and which can be screwed into the open end of the valve body to a position so as to locate theannular housing and hence first and second annular members in therequired sealing locations with the ball. In FIG. 1 d which is apreferred embodiment the annular housing 42 is provided in threadedengagement with the valve body as shown by threads 47 so that theannular housing is independently located and retained in position withthe valve body. In this embodiment the annular securing member is againprovided and in this case is again threadedly secured to the valve bodybut does not act on the annular housing and indeed need not be incontact with the same as it is not required to exert any retaining forceon the annular housing 42.

In either embodiment the external face 46 of the annular securing membercan be adapted to have a pipeline sealing form which meets Internationalrequirements so as to allow the same to be sealed to a flange of apipeline. This therefore means that the remainder of the retainingassembly components can be provided in a common manner and only theannular securing member need be provided to include a particular form ofpipeline sealing means on the external sealing face. Thus common valveassemblies can be formed under factory conditions and tested with theappropriate securing member provided at the factory or at the locationof connection to the pipeline to suit the particular pipeline sealingarrangement requirements and pipeline sealing formation for thatparticular job. This therefore greatly simplifies the manufacturingoperation where conventionally the entire retaining assembly, as it istypically a one piece construction, has to be provided with the requiredpipeline sealing formation at the factory and at the time of manufactureand tested with the appropriate pipeline sealing formation alreadyprovided.

Thus, in accordance with the invention, there is provided a retainingassembly which has a plurality of components which ensure that theappropriate sealing arrangement is provided with the ball and that theball is appropriately located and retained within the valve body.However, at the same time, the retaining assembly is provided in a formand configuration such that the overall valve assembly which is formedcan be formed of a length which falls within the Internationalspecification.

Preferably, in the spacing between the respective balls 12 and 14 thereis provided a sealing assembly 43 which comprises first and secondsealing rings 48, 50 located with a central assembly 52 which includes aplurality of springs located around a circular path, said springs actingon both the first and second sealing members 48, 50 to bias the sametowards contact with the respective balls 12. Once again, provision ofthis central sealing assembly, allows the overall length of the valve tobe reduced in comparison to the conventional sealing assembly. Twopossible embodiments of this sealing assembly are described withreference to FIGS. 4 a-c, which both show sectional views along thecentral axis of the sealing assembly located intermediate the balls ofthe valve assembly. In FIG. 4 a there is illustrated a first embodimentin which first and second sealing members 48, 50 are provided to act onsurfaces of respective balls 12 a and 12 b. In this case the opposingends 49, 57 of each of the plurality of springs 51 which are spacedaround the passage along a circular path are located in and act on thefirst and second members 48, 50 respectively. It is found that at anygiven time only one of the sealing members needs to be biased to act onone of the valve balls, depending on the flow of fluid at that time andhence the particular sealing member which is required to applysufficient pressure to create the seal with the appropriate ball. Thistherefore means that the springs are able to apply the biasing force onone of the sealing members at any given time as required rather thanapplying a biasing force against both sealing members simultaneously,although this could be achieved by the sealing assembly if required.Particularly, although not necessarily exclusively, in smaller valveassemblies the springs may be susceptible to deformation by twisting orbending about their longitudinal axis if, for example, there is relativerotational movement between the first and second sealing members duringuse of the valve. This bending could cause the biasing effect to beadversely affected and therefore in accordance with the embodiment shownin FIGS. 4 b and c each of the springs is located to pass through achannel 53 so that the springs are each located by their respectivechannel intermediate the ends of the spring. As the channels aretypically provided in a member which is provided in a fixed position inthe valve body or more typically provided in a portion 55 which isformed as an integral part of the valve body 4 as shown in FIGS. 4 b andc, the intermediate portions of the springs are provided in a fixedlocation and therefore cannot be bent by any relative rotational forcesfrom the first or second sealing members with which the spring ends arelocated and so the biasing force of the springs can be maintained.

Referring to FIGS. 2 a and b, there is provided a further embodiment ofa valve assembly in accordance with the invention and, whereappropriate, the same reference numerals have been used for the samecomponents as used in FIGS. 1 a-c.

In this case, the retaining assemblies 32, 34 are of a different designto that shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 a-c. In this case, theretaining assembly 34, details of which are shown in FIG. 2 b, comprisesa first annular member 54 which is provided to engage sealingly with theball 14 and which is acted upon by second annular member 56. The secondannular member receives an end 58 of each of a plurality of biasingsprings 60 which are provided at locations along a circular path withthe ends 58 being received within a recess 62 in the second annularmember 56. The opposing end 64 of each of the springs 60 is received ina recess 68 in an annular housing 66. In turn, the annular housing 66 islocated with respect to the valve body 4 by annular securing member 70.In this case, both the annular securing member 70 and the annularhousing 66 can be threadedly engaged with the valve body 4 so as tosecure the retaining assembly in position as is also illustrated in FIG.1 d.

In both embodiments, sealing means in the form of o-rings can beselected to be located at positions between respective components of theretaining assembly, and the retaining assembly and the valve body so asto ensure that fluid seepage through the retaining assembly and throughthe interface between the assembly and the valve body is prevented.

The embodiments shown herein and the inventive aspect provide severalkey advantages over the prior art. In particular the invention allowsgreater flexibility in the use of the retention assembly and maintenanceof the same with respect to the prior art arrangements. For example, inthe current invention by removing the annular securing member the firstannular member, second annular member and annular housing as well as thesprings can be removed and replaced or maintained without the need toloosen the ball and trunnion stems or corrupting the major body seal,which would affect the factory set geometry of those components andpotentially invalidate warranty if the primary pressure seal was broken.

Furthermore by having the arrangement shown there is less susceptibilityto loosening of the retention of the valve seat position in service dueto vibration. This is in contrast to a single retaining component asshown in the prior art which is more susceptible to loosening and whichis why this conventional design typically requires an external(tangential) retaining bolt to be fitted which corrupts the bodyintegrity because this retaining bolt, for it to connect to the innerinsert, requires a hole to be drilled through the pressure retainingouter body wall to the inner body wall to make contact with the insertit intends to retain.

The provision of the annular housing and annular securing member allowsthe removal of one without corrupting the valve's body pressureintegrity, which means that the outer insert with say an RTJ pipelineseal formation groove machined upon it can be removed and replaced withanother outer insert of the same dimensions with a raised face finish toprovide a different form of external sealing face. As a result the valveassembly in accordance with the invention has an element of universalinterchangability between pipeline seal standards rather than being adedicated size/pressure class/sealing face type product as isconventionally the case.

The ability to provide the annular securing member as a separatecomponent allows the same to be manufactured of alloy steels at a lowercost. Alloy inserts are required to comply with client required hardnessvalues to make positive pipeline seals when using a soft materialintermediate sealing ring, such as RTJ flange standards. The alternativeto alloy inserts can be welded inlay, which is expensive and requiresadditional testing including radiography; all are not required with thecurrent invention. Furthermore the annular securing member can beconsidered as sacrificial. For example should a prior art design valvebe dropped on its end or bumped the end flange seal may become damagedthe valve will require stripping down, the part replacing, and the valvere-testing and even returning to the factory.

Whereas, in the current invention if the annular securing member suffersthe same damage the same can be replaced on site without the need tostrip down the valve or re-test.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 a and b, there is illustrated, in FIG. 3 a aconventional ball and trunnion arrangement in a schematic manner. In aconventional arrangement, there is provided a ball 100 located in thevalve passageway 102 so as to be rotatable about axis 104 between thevalve open position which is shown and the valve closed position inwhich the channel 106 of the ball is located so as to prevent the fluidflow along passage 102. In this conventional arrangement, the ball islocated with respect to the valve body 108 by first and secondtrunnions, an upper trunnion 110 and a lower trunnion 112. The uppertrunnion 110 is typically connected to a handle or other actuation meanswhich allows rotation of the same and hence rotation of the ball betweenthe open and closed positions. The lower trunnion 112 is typicallyprovided with a flange 114 mounted externally of the valve body 108 andthe flange 114 receives a plurality of bolts 116, one of which is shown,which passes through an aperture 118 in the flange 114 and into thevalve body 108 so as to secure the trunnion in position.

The requirements shown in the conventional design of FIG. 3 a for thelower trunnion 112 to be located with the valve body via the externalengagement means of the flange and bolts, means that the wall of thevalve body 108, and in turn, the outer dimensions of the valve body as awhole, have to be sufficiently large so as to receive and locate thebolts. This therefore means that the overall size of the valve body canbe greater than desired.

FIG. 3 b illustrates a new embodiment of a trunnion and ball assembly inaccordance with the invention. In this case, there is provided ball 100which again is movable about axis 104 between the respective open andclosed positions. The upper trunnion 110 can be provided in aconventional form but the lower trunnion of FIG. 3 a is no longer usedand instead a cylinder or peg 120 is provided. This peg is received in alocating aperture 122 in the ball 100 and the opposing end of the peg isreceived in a recess 124 formed in the valve body 108. Thus, the peg 120is entirely located within the valve body and therefore no engagementflange or bolts are required externally of the valve body. Because theexternal engagement means are not required, thus the overall dimensionsof the valve can be significantly reduced. For example, a reduction ofup to 40% in the thickness of the valve body at the location of the peg120 in comparison to that which would be required if a conventional,externally located trunnion was to be used. Furthermore the use of theinternally mounted trunnion avoids problems which can be experienced inthe required accuracy of the externally mounted trunnions, especiallywith relatively large valves. A further and very important advantagewhich is obtained is that as the trunnion or peg 120 is mounted whollyinternally of the valve body no leak path is provided to the externalface of the valve assembly. It will be appreciated that withconventional externally mounted trunnions as they pass from the interiorof the valve body to the outside this creates a possible leakage pathfor fluid from the internal passage in the valve which, in turn, meansthat relatively complex sealing arrangements are required to be providedin the conventional arrangements. This is not required in the currentinvention.

Although it may not always be required it is envisaged that suitablemechanical location means can be provided as required to allow thetrunnion to be located with the ball and/or valve body.

Typically, the retaining peg is introduced into the passage of the valvebody once the ball is in position. The peg is then placed into thechannel in the ball and then moved downwardly as indicated by arrow 101to pass into and through the locating aperture 122 and into the recess124 and it is then held in position such that the valve body can rotatearound the peg and about axis 104. A retention means (not shown) may beintroduced so as to secure the peg or cylinder to the ball and/or valvebody.

Referring now to FIG. 5 there is illustrated a further embodiment of theinvention which incorporates the aspects of the invention describedherein and the same reference numerals are used herein as appropriate.FIG. 5 also illustrates the manner in which a further aspect of theinvention can be achieved, namely the insertion of the components whichare to be positioned along the passage 6 from one common end 130 of thevalve body 4 in the direction of arrow 132. This is achievable by theuse of the aspects of the invention as herein described and importantlyallows the valve assembly to be created with the required components inthe required location and with a greatly reduced number of leak pathsbetween the passage 6 and the external face of the valve body as thenumber of interfaces between the passage and the external face of thebody is greatly reduced in comparison to conventional valve assembliesin which the components are typically inserted from both ends of thevalve body, which therefore doubles the number of leak paths andrequires the external mounting of trunnions which again doubles thenumber of leak paths in comparison the to assembly shown in FIG. 5. Thisin accordance with the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 the order ofinsertion of components into position in the valve body through theinitially open end 130 of the valve body would be as follows. Firstinsert the sealing ring 133 and any biasing means 134 to the opposingend 136 of the passage and abut the same against locating wall 138 asshown, move the first ball 12 a into position as shown, locate the firstinternally mounted trunnion 120 a into position through the channel inthe ball and into the recess 124 a. Move the sealing assembly 43 of thetype shown in FIG. 4 a into position to contact with the first ball 12 aon one side and, following the insertion of the second ball 12 b intoposition, contact with that ball, move the trunnion 120 b into thelocation recess 124 b to locate with the ball 12 b and then move theretaining assembly with the first and second annular members and annularhousing 36,40,42 and biasing means 38 into position with the annularhousing 42 in threaded engagement with the valve body. With thesecomponents in position the annular securing member 44 can be engagedwith the valve body to retain the other components in position and closethe opening 130 and also, as required provided the appropriate externalsealing face formation 46 to allow engagement with the pipeline. Thus,the valve components can be inserted from only one end and reduce thenumber of potential leak paths which, in turn reduces the number ofsealing components required to be provided. The trunnions 110 can beintroduced and located in a conventional manner.

There is therefore provided an improved version of a valve assemblywhich ensures the efficient and correct operation of the same whilstensuring that the same complies with applicable International standardsand at the same time provide further advantages over conventional valveassemblies as set out herein. It should be appreciated that while it ispreferred that the various aspects described herein be used incombination it is possible and, it is intended to provided protectionfor, the possible uses of all combinations of the different aspectsdescribed hereonin and/or the use of each of the aspects independentlyof the others to advantageous effect.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A valve assembly, said valve assemblyincluding at least one passage along which fluid can be selectivelyallowed to pass, said assembly including a valve body in which thepassage is formed and at least one ball located in the passage so as tobe moveable between a first position in which a channel in the ballforms part of the passage and a second position in which the ballprevents fluid passing along the passage and wherein at at least one endof the body and depending inwardly towards one side of the at least oneball there is provided a retention assembly, said assembly comprising afirst annular member to contact with the ball, a second annular memberreceiving and locating at least one biasing means, said first and secondannular members located within an annular housing, said annular housingretained within the valve body, and an annular securing member which isengaged with the valve body and which has an outer face which forms orreceives an external sealing face for the valve assembly to a pipelineor pipeline flange and wherein the first annular member supports andreceives thereon a valve seat.
 2. A valve assembly according to claim 1wherein the annular housing and annular securing member areindependently retained with the valve body.
 3. A valve assemblyaccording to claim 1 wherein the annular housing is retained in thevalve body by the annular securing member.
 4. A valve assembly accordingto claim 1 wherein the external sealing face is adapted so as to allowthe external sealing face to be engaged and sealed with a pipeline or apipeline flange in conjunction with which the valve is to be used.
 5. Avalve assembly according to claim 1 in which the retention assembly isprovided at each end of the valve body.
 6. A valve assembly according toclaim 1 wherein the valve assembly includes at least first and secondballs provided at spaced locations along the fluid passage formed in thevalve body and the retention assembly is provided at at least one end ofthe valve body to contact with a side of one of said first and secondballs which lies closest to that end.
 7. A valve assembly according toclaim 6 wherein the retention assembly is located at the opposing sideof the valve assembly to contact with a side of the other of said firstand second balls.
 8. A valve assembly according to claim 1 wherein whentwo balls are provided a sealing assembly is provided between balls soas to locate with the respective opposing sides of the balls which facetowards each other.
 9. A valve assembly according to claim 8 wherein thesealing assembly comprises a first annular seat for contact with a faceof a first ball and a second annular seat for contact with a face of asecond ball and said first and second seats are provided with at leastone biasing means depending between the first and second seats.
 10. Avalve assembly according to claim 9 wherein a plurality of biasing meansare provided spaced apart around a circular path at the periphery ofsaid passage.
 11. A valve assembly according to claim 8 wherein thebiasing means pass through a channel formed in a portion of the body oranother member which depends partially inwardly so as to locate thebiasing means with respect to the longitudinal axis of the same.
 12. Avalve assembly according to claim 1 wherein the first annular member isformed as a valve seat for sealing contact with the ball side.
 13. Avalve assembly according to claim 1 wherein the biasing means providedin the second annular member are a series of springs provided at spacedlocations around a circular path.
 14. A valve assembly according toclaim 1 wherein a first end of each of the biasing means are located inthe second annular member.
 15. A valve assembly according to claim 14wherein said ends are received and located in a part of the secondannular member which is received in a recessed portion in the firstannular member so as to locate the second annular member therewith. 16.A valve assembly according to claim 14 wherein opposing ends of thebiasing means are located with a face of the annular housing.
 17. Avalve assembly according to claim 1 wherein the biasing means of thefirst and second annular members are held in compression so as to biasthe first annular member towards contact with the at least one ball. 18.A valve assembly according to claim 1 wherein sealing means are providedbetween the first annular member and the annular housing and the secondannular member with the annular housing.
 19. A valve assembly accordingclaim 1 wherein biasing means of the first and second annular membersare provided to act on the second annular member and are located within,the annular housing such that the biasing means act on the secondannular member to move the second annular member towards the firstannular member and in turn, to move the first annular member intoengagement with the ball.
 20. A valve assembly according to claim 1wherein the at least one ball is mounted on first and second trunnionsso as to be rotatable and wherein at least one of said trunnions ismounted and located internally of the valve body.
 21. A valve assemblyaccording to claim 1 wherein components which are located within andalong the valve body are moved into position from one common end of thevalve body and the components are retained in position by the engagementof the annular housing and/or annular securing member in position at oradjacent to the end of the body from which the components are moved intoposition, once the components are in position.
 22. A valve assemblyaccording to claim 21 wherein the components include, in order ofinsertion into the valve body, a first sealing ring for the valve ball,the valve ball, a trunnion for the valve ball, a sealing assembly forthe valve ball and a second valve ball, the second valve ball, atrunnion for the second valve ball, the annular housing with first andsecond sealing members located therein, and an annular securing member.23. A valve assembly according to claim 1, wherein a first ball and asecond ball are located in the passage, each ball selectively movablebetween a first position in which a channel in the ball forms part ofthe passage and a second position in which the ball prevents fluidpassing along the passage and wherein a sealing assembly is provided ina space in the valve body between said balls, said sealing assemblyincluding a sealing ring for location with a face of the first ball anda sealing ring for location with a face of the second ball and whereinbiasing means are provided for the first and second balls, with a firstend of each of the biasing means located to act on the first sealingring and a second end located to act on the second sealing ring.
 24. Avalve assembly according to claim 23 wherein the first and secondsealing rings are separate components.
 25. A valve assembly according toclaim 23 wherein at any given time the biasing means bias one of thesealing rings into contact with a respective ball surface.
 26. A valveassembly according to claim 23 wherein a plurality of biasing means areprovided spaced along a circular path.
 27. A valve assembly according toclaim 23 wherein the biasing means are located in position by locationof ends with the respective sealing rings.
 28. A valve assemblyaccording to claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the biasing meansintermediate ends of the biasing means are located in a channel.
 29. Avalve assembly according to claim 28 wherein said channel is formed in aportion of the valve body.
 30. A valve assembly according to claim 29wherein said portion protrudes into the passage of valve body and islocated intermediate the first and second sealing rings.
 31. A valveassembly according to claim 28 wherein said channel is provided in amember located between first and second sealing rings.